All Along the Watchtower - Hendrix/Dylan Friday afternoon mix

[andy casson]

1 tele, 1 Villager 12 string, 1 vox, and the most outrageous regga beat I could find in Sonar

Happy friday all you SC's
enjoy

[Burtog]

Cool - it shouldn't work with that beat but does.

When I read your post, I Tele, I villager........................I thought what the hell is he doing with a Villager?

Villager 12 string,.....................I should learn to read!

[Farrell Jackson]

Wow Andy I don't know how you got All Along The Watch Tower to work so well with this Reggae beat but work it does. Great vocal on this this.....you have a little Dylan vibe folded in....very cool there! The lead riffing really makes this an excellent listen......nice cover!

Farrell

[Hook]

This great Andy, I totally dig the groove you've given it! Your vocals,as always are passionate and powerful, great job!
Rock on!

[launched]

Totally diggin' this listen, Andy!! Wow, you really changed it up and got me soakin' up a tune that I thought I'd been worn out by long ago. Groovy groovy awesome!

You rule, bro!

[Hilary]

Mighty fine Mr Casson, I'm liking the Friday afternoon mix.

[bruno]

Very cool version - works really, really well.
I always think that it great to take something so well known, and move it to a different place. Great job Andy.
B.

[Damián]

Great version!! I love this song!!

[thetworegs]

Well you made this your own Andy a great version loving your vocal on this as well as the music excellent job....it gets a Bravo from me.......

[Ted]

the most outrageous regga beat I could find in Sonar

Alright. I read that and was kind of expecting a low-effort reggae version. It's a pet peeve of mine; when people just cover a song in a different genre, using only the cliches of said genre – the punk version, the reggae version, the lounge jazz version. Covers like that fail to bring anything creative or new to the song, and rarely reveal any new qualities hidden in the original version.

Well, that's not what you did here. Yours is a stripped-down version that, I dare say, does what Hendrix's cover failed to do: It conveys the horror and dread of a world on the verge of collapse – as intended by Dylan. Hendrix' version – which is amazing and rightfully lauded – had the unfortunate effect of pushing the lyrics to the background. Even Hendrix' vocal delivery is full of confidence and swagger, the opposite of what this song is meant to convey. Your version keeps the focus on the lyrics, and the anxious vocal delivery is spot-on what these lyrics require. The plaintive guitar underscores the vocals rather than competing with the vocals for attention. And the "outrageous reggae beat" – with are no fills, no variations, no breakdown – is ominous, relentless, emotionless, and indifferent as it advances the doom.

Excellent.

Blackout Bump - week of 16 June, 2012